


Adagio

by Darkwolfhunter900



Category: Assassin's Creed - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bands, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, CoWorkers to Friends to Lovers, Cult of Kosmos is a band, Drama & Romance, F/F, Friends to Lovers, Kassandra is Deimos (Assassin's Creed), technically
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-18
Updated: 2020-04-18
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:54:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,209
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23719297
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Darkwolfhunter900/pseuds/Darkwolfhunter900
Summary: The Cult of Kosmos is an up and coming band whose mysterious kayfabe intrigues any who encounter their performances. Evie Frye finds herself ensnared by them after coincidentally watching their latest performance. The lead singer, Deimos, looks surprisingly familiar, though her aggressive and brash actions are far from the goofy and humble behavior of Evie's coworker, Kassandra.Enraptured by the band, Evie tries to uncover the mystery of the band; but the closer she gets, the more she falls for Kassandra, and for the mysterious Deimos.
Relationships: Alexios & Kassandra (Assassin's Creed), Alexios/Jacob Frye, Brasidas & Kassandra (Assassin's Creed), Evie Frye & Jacob Frye, Evie Frye/Kassandra
Comments: 5
Kudos: 24





	Adagio

**Author's Note:**

> So this is a rather wacky AU that came from talking about a modern AU with my friend Nic (HavocRoyale), and then that AU became a band AU, which... then became this. It also came from both of us declaring that there needed to be more Evie/Kassandra & Alexios/Jacob content. 
> 
> A big, big thank you to my other friend, also named Nic. They helped with proof-reading and editing this massive first chapter.  
> 

Evie Frye took a deep breath as she stepped into the dark exhibit room, keys clinking in her hand as she pulled them from the lock. The old high windows were covered by a thick curtain, and Evie made short work of pulling them back. Slowly, the ancient space brightened up as the natural light filtered inside. Satisfied, Evie returned to the doorway, bending down to grab the cardboard boxes that she placed in the hallway earlier. 

The carpeted floorboards creaked under her as she started to carry boxes across the short, empty room. After all eight of her boxes were placed evenly at each display case, she finished up by carrying in an armful of plastic placards, dropping them on the center display case. 

The smell of stale air and dust filled her nose when she started to skim the placards, and she quickly opened the doors to the exhibit before placing a ‘CLOSED’ sign in the doorway. Although the museum is usually fairly empty on Thursdays, the last thing Evie wanted was for patrons to start walking through her workspace. Polite as their questions might be, she didn’t have that type of mental energy today and needed to focus on the work at hand. 

She rubbed the back of her neck before pulling out a large sheet of paper from the closest box, laying it out opposite the placards in front of her. Although she was confident in her skills, she couldn’t seem to shake a bundle of nerves. The curator, Herodotus, had been kind enough to give her this small exhibit as her first project, and Evie didn’t want to disappoint him . 

Checking her watch, she set a timer for 4 hours. That should be enough time for her to get a decent visualization on the objects and displays she needed to gather from the archives. With a glance down at the blueprint, she began to unpack the rest of the first box, taking out various paper mache placeholders. 

With each placement of the objects she found her bundle of nerves slowly dissipating, and eventually Evie reached a comfortable cadence with the entire arrangement. 

“Hey! Evie!” 

The sudden shout of her name brought Evie back into the present moment, her mental focus shattered as her head turned.

There, slipping in through the open doors of the small exhibit room, was her brother, Jacob. He had a grin on his face as he jogged over to her, head swiveling and looking around at the contents of the room. Gently, she placed her exhibit blueprints down on a stack of placards.

Jacob’s cheeks were rosy, his hair all askew, as if he had ran down the city blocks just to get to the museum. Knowing Jacob, that probably was the case; her brother had no concept of the weather in early spring. It was moments like these that made Evie wonder how he survived when she was away at University for so many years.

“Curious place, isn’t it?” he says. “I almost got lost following the little map thing in the lobby. Do you know how many empty exhibit rooms are on the first floor alone?” His eyes twinkled with a bit of mirth as the corner of his lips turned upwards into a smirk. Although they were separated for so long, it only took the last month of living together in the city for him to get right back to pulling on her strings and pushing her buttons. For someone that lacked a single delicate bone in his body, he always excelled at gently poking and prodding at her. 

Evie huffed, rolling her eyes. “What do you want? Surely you’re not here to tease me about my job. Or did you get lost looking for Alexios?” 

Her question drew a faint flush from Jacob, and he playfully shoved her shoulder. “Contrary to your belief, I wanted to see you. Alexios is just a benefit, of course.” Evie snorted and he ignored it, continuing on with his explanation, “As my loving and supportive twin, I wanted to know if you would like to see me perform at a gig with the Rooks?”

Evie hummed in surprise, watching his eyes shine with unbridled excitement, his body moving ever so slightly, leaning forward and awaiting her answer. “Of course. You know that already. Punk rock might not be my preferred genre, but I’ll always support you.” At her answer, he gave a quiet shout of accomplishment, and Evie smiled. “Where are you performing, though?”

Jacob grinned. “It’s at the local park. Some music label is hosting a small concert for any local bands that can get in. Thankfully, the Rooks were able to get in because of Alexios’ connection with another band. Not to brag, but he really knows everyone in this city, it’s crazy!” 

Evie chuckled at the clear pride in his voice, thankful that Jacob had found someone like Alexios. Just as she was about to question him further, another voice called out from the doorway of the exhibit room, and both Frye twins turned to look--

“There you are!” 

Alexios’ bright and rich voice filled the room as he exclaimed his excitement at finding them both. In a few short strides, he crossed the room and quickly embraced Jacob with a kiss on his cheek before turning to Evie, wearing a bright smile on his face.

“I’m so glad to have you, Evie. Herodotus wanted me to grab a few things before the end of the day and mentioned that you were trying to tackle this whole exhibit.” His arms swept around him, motioning to the empty room. “Though it looks like you have everything ready, hm?” 

His head tilted toward the blueprint that Evie had laid out, eyes quickly scanning over the fine-printed text. 

Suddenly nervous, Evie adjusted her glasses and cleared her throat. Even after a month of working at the museum, knowing that her brother was dating the step-son of the curator still threw her for a loop. She didn’t know how to go about talking to Alexios, even if he was always warm and welcoming with her. 

“I don’t believe I will need anything currently,” she answered. “I’m really just setting everything up for a visualization.” 

Alexios hummed, looking away from the paper and back up at her eyes, his warm smile returning. “Well, if you need anything, don’t hesitate to call, okay?” 

Evie nodded, reciprocating with a small smile of her own. “Thank you.” Evie watched as Alexios’ face softened slightly, he nodded in response. “I don’t want to hold you here, though, especially if Herodotus needs anything.”

Nodding, Alexios wrapped an arm around Jacob’s waist, and the two started to move together. “We’ll let you get back to your work, Evie.” Alexios said, and Jacob gave her two thumbs up and a grin before they left Evie to herself.

\--/\\--

Evie sighed in relief as she looked over her work, with each of her placeholders exactly where she wanted them, all according to her blueprint. Each of the displays had at least one example of ancient literature and the translation processes, and she made a mental note to find more text for patrons to read. 

She stretched as she stood up, back arching as a sigh of exhaustion left her. If her placards were all correct, she needed to return to her office to look at the museum’s database before sending any confirmation over to the conservator. 

With another sigh, Evie grabbed her keys and her small stack of papers and left the room, turning and closing the door. Exerting a little effort, the mechanism locked with a satisfying _click_. 

Evie glanced down to pocket her keys as she turned around, and the next step she took caused her to collide with something. She dropped her papers in shock and bent down to collect them, peering up at the object she had collided with.

To her surprise, a tall, muscular woman bent down next to her. Her tanned hands quickly started to gather the sheets up, even sorting a few of them that Evie didn’t recognize. Realizing that the woman dropped her papers, too, an apology stumbled out of Evie.

The woman’s gorgeous hazel eyes scrunched up behind her glasses as she dismissed the apology, handing Evie her papers before offering a hand to help her up. 

Evie grasped her muscled arm and stood up, eyes intently observing every part of the woman. From her long and braided brown hair to the uniform shirt without a name tag, Evie was thoroughly confused as to who she was. 

Surely, in Evie’s past month of working at the museum, she should’ve noticed this mountain of a woman roaming the halls. 

The woman’s cheeks were flushed, and Evie belatedly realized that she had been staring for quite some time 

Her own cheeks warmed in embarrassment. With a cough to clear her throat, the woman held a hand out to Evie, muscle pulled taught in her forearm with the stiff movement. 

Evie shook it, reciprocating the strong grip, and raised her eyebrows at her compatriot. She bowed her head slightly as she started to speak, “I’m so sorry for running into you, I have a bad habit of speeding through the halls on slow days.” 

“Don’t apologize, I was too focused on my thoughts and didn’t think anyone would be in this wing,” the mystery woman replied, the corner of her mouth pulled up in a nervous smile. Evie gave a small smile back, and it seemed to relax the woman ever so slightly, as her shoulders noticeably loosened. 

“Evie, right?” the woman said, speaking with a familiar accent, and Evie nodded. “I’m Kassandra, the conservator. Herodotus said you were putting this ancient literature exhibit together, so I wanted to introduce myself.” 

Kassandra’s smile grew a bit as she looked down at her papers, pushing her glasses back up with one hand as she offered the papers to Evie with the other. “It’s not much--we don’t have a lot of texts, but I made a list of anything that matches the exhibit theme for you. I know the database here is… quite infuriating, so I figured I’d help.”

Evie graciously took the papers, eyes skimming the spreadsheet. She wasn’t even aware the museum had some of these items; this list is exactly what she needed. “Thank you so, so much, Kassandra,” she said, eyes still locked on the pages. 

Kassandra cleared her throat with a smile, bringing Evie’s attention away from the papers. “Well, if you need anything else, feel free to let me know. I’m usually around the archives, and if you can’t find me, just find Herodotus. He’s bound to figure out where I’m roaming.” 

Her eyes twinkled with amusement as Evie gave a small laugh and thanked her again. Kassandra gave a nod before departing down the corridor, leaving Evie to process the items and make her way back to her office. 

\--/\\--

Kassandra stretched as she stood up from her desk, shoulders rolling back and giving a satisfying _pop_. She gently tossed her glasses behind her and onto her bed, rubbing the bridge of her nose to try and alleviate the tension that had started to build there the last hour. 

She tapped her fingers idly on the glass desk. It felt like she was getting nowhere with the writing process; Alexios was far better with the lyrical work.

A dull _ching_ echoed in her otherwise silent apartment, and Kassandra reached for her phone, eyes quickly skimming the new text. Cursing under her breath, she pushed out from under her desk, standing up quickly and jogging over to open her door. 

Kassandra breathed a sigh of relief at seeing Alexios standing on the other side, clutching a large bowl in his hands. He grinned, sliding past her and into the apartment. 

“I thought you’d forgotten about me!” he said, walking past the spacious living area and into the open kitchen.

Kassandra ran a hand through her loose hair before she shut her door and followed him into the kitchen, finding him already perched on the stone countertop.

Tilting her head, Kassandra leaned against the island and surveyed the bowl that Alexios had brought. “I thought we weren’t having dinner until 7?” she said, furrowing her brow as her eyes moved up to look at him.

Alexios smiled and tipped forward to open the cabinet between his hanging legs, carefully pulling two small plates out before shutting the door with his calf. “Well, considering it _is_ 7, and I know how my sister is, I figured I’d stop by with some leftovers. _Mater_ dropped them off with Herodotus, she told me to give some to you.” He held up a plate stacked with _kreatopita_.

Smiling, she walked over to him, taking the plate and squeezing his shoulder in thanks. He smiled back, dishing out his own portion before gently placing the bowl to the side. The two tapped their forks together and began to eat. 

The familiar taste of the puff pastry pie caught Kassandra’s heart in a vice grip, bringing back memories of their shared childhood. She hadn’t realized just how much she missed it all-- _mater_ ’s cooking, or how _pater_ would take up most of dinner with stories of his research. She especially missed just being close with Alexios.

As if sensing the same nostalgia, he looked up and gave her another warm smile. They didn’t need to say anything, not yet at least. For now, they could eat and spend time together without any fear or worry. 

The soft chime of Alexios’ phone interrupts the moment soon after, though not ruining it entirely. He stopped eating, adjusting on the counter to quickly pull the phone out of his pocket. Giving it a glance, he let out a short sigh and continued eating. 

“So,” Kassandra said between mouthfuls of the meat pie. “How was your errand run? _Pater_ mentioned that he had sent you, but I didn’t realize you would still be at the museum.” She paused to wipe her mouth with the back of her hand, stepping away from the counter to place the empty plate in the sink. 

Alexios hummed as he chewed, handing her his empty plate as he slid down from the countertop. “Ah, he had me grabbing the little things. Wanted to get a few rough drafts of a guide printed--said he wants to talk to the staff first before officially choosing one.” He scratched his bearded chin, eyebrows furrowed in thought. “I think he’s worried about Evie. I’ve never seen an exhibit designer work as hard as she does.”

Humming in acknowledgment, Kassandra began to wash the plates as Alexios moved to lean against the counter next to her. “You know, I met her for the first time today,” she commented, cheeks flushing at Alexios’ burst of laughter. 

“Really? In the last month, you didn’t once stop to see who the new hire was?” At her silence, Alexios laughed again, slapping her back. “Kassandra, are you _always_ working in the basement?” 

Scoffing, Kassandra flicked water at her brother before turning off the sink. “First of all, it’s the _archives_ , because that’s my job. Second, I’m… around. You’d be surprised how much fits in that basement.” Alexios rolled his eyes, smirking as he walked past her to lounge on the nearby living room couch.

Kassandra followed him, drying her wet hands on her sweatpants and climbing over Alexios to perch on the top of the couch. The two didn’t say much as they watched the city below through the expansive glass windows. Slowly, neon signs flickered on, their colors illuminating the streets, bathing the small specks of people in various shades of light. 

“Brasidas texted me earlier,” Alexios spoke in a hushed voice, not wanting to ruin the trance the city lulled them into. Kassandra hummed, adjusting herself on the couch, resting her elbows on her knees. “He wanted to know if we had made any progress on the new song.” 

Kassandra rolled her head back, breaking eye contact with the city streets. “We’ll finish it when we finish it. I adore him, but gods is he impatient,” she whined, closing her eyes for a second. “I did try working on it, though. But I think you’re the better lyricist.” 

Alexios rumbled with a low laugh, eyes squinting in a smile. “That is true, you were never great with words.” 

He yelped as Kassandra smacked his head, holding it in an exaggerated motion. “ _Malaka_ , I’ll show you how bad I am with words,” she threatened, though her voice held no real threat as Alexios gently shoved against her. 

“We can always tell him tomorrow at the sound check. It’s not like he’s going to skip it,” Alexios said, slowly standing up from the couch and arching his back in a stretch. “And I’ll talk to Alcibiades for you, just send me what you have.” He moved around the furniture and walked towards the front door.

Nodding, Kassandra slowly got up from the couch, flicking on a light as she passed by it. Its warm glow illuminated part of the apartment, reflecting in the shiny wooden floors and mixing with the neon shades coming in from the city streets. 

Turning to face Kassandra, Alexios opened his arms with a grin. Laughing under her breath, Kassandra embraced her brother, patting his back before breaking apart. 

“Thank you for dinner,” she said, squeezing his forearm as he left her apartment. He reciprocated the action before moving down the hallway and out of sight.

Eyes heavy with exhaustion, Kassandra locked her door, shuffling back to her bedroom to resume her work once more. 

\--/\\--

Tightly gripping a hot mug, Evie’s free hand nimbly unlocked her office door. She shrugged off her bag against her desk, hissing as the heated ceramic bit into her palm, and quickly placed it on the wooden top. Still unfamiliar with the break room’s coffee machine, Evie had made the fatal mistake of underestimating the heat of the liquid on her trek back to her office.. 

Evie unlocked her computer and squinted as the bright white spreadsheet filled the screen--her work paused from the day before. Her hands reached under the folders she had spread on her desk earlier in the day, fishing for the list that Kassandra gave her yesterday. Evie only needed to coordinate a few more of the old literature texts, and the exhibit would be complete. 

Biting at her lower lip in contemplation, she brought up the tab of the museum database and entered the few texts she was having trouble locating. Her fingers quickly found a pen and sticky notes to write down the identification numbers for each of the texts. While none of them were completely unique, they were still texts that Evie hoped to find and display. 

Pen tapping idly on her desktop, Evie took a careful sip of coffee as she continued to scan through the database and the paper list. The longer she looked, the more frustrated she became. While the system was impeccably detailed, she wasn’t getting much from the database that she didn’t already know. Sure, the added pictures helped, but Evie wanted to know what laid in the text beneath the leather covers. 

It was early enough in the day that the museum should be relatively empty. Maybe she could luck out and see Kassandra at the archives. 

Then again, if she wasn’t there… 

The office grew silent as Evie stopped tapping her pen, eyes shut and brows furrowed as she weighed each option. In a snap decision, she stood up, grabbing the sticky note and her coffee mug before leaving her office. She made her way down the winding stairs of the museum, nodding at a few interns that were standing idly at desks as she followed the signs directing her to the archives. 

Eventually the spiral staircase opened up to a wide corridor with short halls on both sides, though each hall was blocked by large metal doors. Behind her was a modern elevator that employees used. Eyebrow arched in curiosity, she stepped forward to the door on the right, eyes scanning over the badge reader nestled next to the door frame. Just beyond the doors, Evie could make out the dull, rhythmic hum of music. 

It was easy enough to maneuver her employee badge out of her pocket, and after swiping, the doors unlocked with a satisfying little _click_. Pocketing her ID, Evie pulled the doors open, slipping in. The music thrumming behind the doors became clearer instantly--it was heavy, definitely a type of rock music, though Evie couldn’t identify a strict genre. 

It was coming from a laptop perched precariously on a stack of various papers and notes, all resting on top of an old metal desk in the corner next to a steaming mug of what she assumed to be coffee. She spotted a messenger bag leaning against the desk and relief washed over her at the sight. Kassandra couldn’t be too far away. 

However, the looming rows of metal and glass covered shelves intimidated Evie. No longer was she staring at a neat database, with each item precisely categorized and labelled. Facing the items themselves was an entirely different thing, and judging by the fact that there was yet another hallway nearby, this was likely only a fraction of what was stored. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she began to walk through the area, calling out Kassandra’s name as she went.

She continued to walk down through the branching hallway, barely able to take in the wide array of shelves and storage, all designed to serve different purposes. While seeing everything physically stored like this overwhelmed her, there was a part of Evie that was delighted by it. Her mind was slowly making note of items that looked interesting, of ways to connect them to a new exhibit idea, and she soon started to drift from the hallway into the corridors of the archive shelves. 

Fingers tightly gripping her mug, she began reading the labels and identification numbers of the nearby items as she wandered. The laptop music grew quieter before another song started up, and Evie’s brows furrowed when she heard a quiet, rhythmic humming from a nearby aisle. 

Curious, she turned and slowly walked in the direction of the sound.

Kassandra was only a few feet away, her back to Evie and busy taking boxes off of a plain metal shelf and placing them on the floor. Her biceps were flexing with each motion, movements pausing a few times to rifle through the boxes before giving a nod and continuing. 

“Kassandra?”

Kassandra jumped at the noise, fingers going white as she tightly gripped the box in her hands. A quiet curse left her lips as she spun to look at Evie, wearing a light blush on her cheeks. With a shaky laugh, she gently placed the box down by her feet.

“Oh god, I’m sorry--I didn’t mean to startle you,” Evie said, brows furrowed in worry. 

But Kassandra laughed again, waving off the apology, and Evie’s shoulders relaxed. 

Kassandra straightened up, a grin on her lips and mirth in her eyes. “We need to stop meeting like this, Evie. I don’t think my heart can take another surprise.” Her eyes crinkled in delight as Evie gave a soft giggle.

“I’m sure you didn’t just come down here to scare me, so,” Kassandra continued, as she picked up the box once more, nodding in the direction of where the music was coming from. “Let me drop this off and I can help you find what you need.” 

Evie was quick to follow, keeping up as Kassandra began to wind through the sprawling aisles. Her eyes subconsciously drifted to Kassandra’s biceps, the muscles taught and defined under her uniform polo. Just under her right sleeve, three faded scars poked out, each perfectly lined and symmetrical. 

Swallowing, Evie looked away and focused on the path they were taking. They reached the desk in under a minute, taking a far shorter time than Evie had alone. 

Kassandra gave a huff as she placed the box down next to the desk, reaching over to pause the music on her laptop. “So,” she said, hands on her hips and grin still in place as she faced Evie. “What can I help you with?” 

Evie nodded and handed Kassandra a slightly-crumpled post-it note, hoping her handwriting was clear enough. “I was looking through your list and the database,” she began, fingers tapping idly on her mug again. “I found these texts in both, but I didn’t quite understand where they would be located.” 

With a small nod Kassandra started to copy the post-it into a file on her laptop. “Were you thinking of using these?” she asked, pushing her glasses up and then turning to look back at Evie. 

“Yes,” Evie answered. “I know they were on the spreadsheet you gave me, but these specific texts seemed really worth displaying.” 

Kassandra madea noise of understanding, turning back to her laptop and pulling the spreadsheet up.“If you give me the weekend I can find everything for you. And... if you’re in this Monday, meet me down here in the morning? I can show you where everything is located and help you set up.” She looked over her shoulder at Evie, flashing a brilliant smile. 

"Thank you so much, really.” Evie said, shoulders relaxing; releasing tension she didn’t even know she was carrying. 

Waving her hand, Kassandra stood back up, the same smile still on her lips. “I’m happy to help, Evie. Like I said, I’m here if you need anything.” 

Evie nodded, smiling back before beginning to make her way out of the archives, satisfied and thankful for Kassandra’s help. 

\--/\\--

Switching the light cotton hoodie to her left hand, Evie briskly walked through the city streets, eyes locked on the park only a block away. Her damp hair cascaded down her shoulders, fluttering slightly in the light breeze. 

The sun was just starting to set, illuminating the park in an otherworldly light reflected in the various windows in the street. It was a lovely night, the cold of yesterday gone with the shifting temperatures of early spring; though it wasn’t exactly hot out, Evie chanced to leave her apartment in just a tank top and jeans, not wanting to arrive late for her brother’s performance. 

Her phone lit up with another text and she lifted it to read as she dodged pedestrians, nimbly typing out a response to let Jacob know she was only a short distance away. Satisfied, she looked back up at the intersection she had just reached, pausing for a moment before strolling across the empty street. 

Evie entered the park and the closer she got to the center, the clearer the various stands and patrons became in the distance. Various vans labelled with band names were parked around the back of the stage, all open busy with movement. The music from the current band--pop by the sound of it--filled the space and layered over the chatter of the patrons that weren’t in the stands. 

Evie was overwhelmed with the awful, familiar smell of cigarette smoke and food trucks when she finally approached the back where the vans were, nose wrinkling after passing through a particularly thick smoke cloud. 

Jacob’s voice reached her ears just under the din of the concert and Evie followed the sound, soon spotting him hunched over an equipment case and pulling out some wrapped up cables. 

“Well, hello there,” Evie said. Jacob instantly stood up and turned to her, grabbing her in a tight embrace. She squealed as he lifted her up ever so slightly, swatting at his shoulder to let her down. He relented, putting her down quickly. 

His shoulders shook with laughter, face alight and eyes shining with disbelief at seeing Evie. “Ah ha, glad you found me!” He threw an arm over her shoulder, pulling her in again for another quick hug. 

“Okay, okay, you know I’d love to talk to you, but we’re going on soon,” he said, words tumbling out in a mix of excitement and unbridled energy. “You know where you’re sitting, yeah?” 

Evie guffawed, grinning as she gently shoved against him, his arm still wrapped over her shoulder. “Of course I do. Your massive wall of text practically described everything in detail.” 

Jacob snorted, ruffling her hair as he let go of her. “If you get lost, you call me, okay? Oh! And don’t skip on the last band, they’re pretty killer.” He bent down to pick up the cable he had dropped when lifting her. Evie rolled her eyes, over exaggerating it as she tried to fight a grin from spreading on her face. 

“Yes, yes, thank you,” Evie said, then squealed when he swept her up into another quick hug. His stubble tickled her forehead as she squirmed, both of them laughing. 

Releasing her, Jacob threw his thumb over his shoulder, pointing towards backstage. “I have to go get ready, okay?” he called, already turning to jog away. “I’ll see you afterwards!” 

Snorting, Evie looked around, trying to spot the general entrance. While there was a good amount of people in the stands, there didn’t seem to be an obvious line to enter, and she took to wandering around the outside of the bleachers until she saw the marquee.

After paying the small fee to get in, Evie wound her way through the various patrons and stands until she reached the row that Jacob had ‘reserved’ for her. Judging by the crowd of drunken patrons swaying around the rows and cheering for the pop band that was still playing, the term ‘reserved’ wasn’t quite accurate. 

Sure, the crowds of people screaming wasn't exactly what Evie was used to, but it was… doable. At least for the night. 

Hand gripping her hoodie, Evie leaned forward in her seat, elbows on her knees as she tried to at least listen to the band. Thankfully, she didn’t have to try for too long, as their set ended within a couple minutes. 

There were a few scattered claps and cheers as groups of people started to move towards the refreshment areas, patting their pockets for their wallets or packs of cigarettes. 

The MC soon announced ‘The Rooks’ and Evie clapped her free hand on her knee with a tentative smile on her face, eyes locked on the stage. She easily spotted Jacob, his grin blinding behind his drum kit. Two other people were on the stage with him, and she idly recognized them as old friends from their childhood, though their names slipped her mind. 

Jacob set the tempo with a rapid tapping of his drumsticks and they launched into two songs that Evie vaguely recognized. The music was dirty, for lack of a better word, but it worked in some odd way, even though there wasn’t ever a clear or precise ending to each riff and phrase. It suited Jacob, Evie thought, nodding her head to the music with the rest of the nearby patrons. 

Even behind a stationary drum set, Jacob was still alive and vibrant, emphatically moving with each flick of his wrists. The band drew the attention of the concert-goers, people shouting and cheering as they performed, some staying to wait and listen instead of rushing to get refreshments. 

Evie was glad she came. She hadn’t seen this side of Jacob in so long; spending years away at University made them grow apart, and she was thankful she moved back home. 

As if in an instant the set was done, and Evie stood to applaud along with the other people nearby, hoping he would somehow spot her in the crowd. 

Taking her seat again, she flipped her phone out, sending an encouraging text to Jacob while waiting for the last band to perform. She hadn’t had the time or mind recently to look up all the bands that were performing tonight, but Jacob said she should stick around for the last set especially. 

So Evie waited, tapping her foot to the filler music that was streaming through the speakers until the curtains raised on the stage.

The crowd had clearly noticed too--slowly, the bleachers started to fill as the cacophony of noises quieted and people began to whisper. It was like the energy had shifted; Evie sat upright in her seat, curious and eager to see what everyone was excited for. 

With a _crack_ the curtains dropped, revealing four figures standing on the smoke-filled stage with their backs to the crowd. 

Cheers, screams, and whistles erupted all around Evie as the MC strolled across the stage, microphone to his mouth and hyping up the crowd. 

“You all know who this is!” he started, gesturing to the band in a sweeping motion and moving off to the side. “The band you’ve been waiting for!” 

The crowd’s excitement fed into Evie, her curiosity piqued. She drew in a breath, hanging on to the MC’s words. 

“Now presenting, the Cult of Kosmos!” 

The person sitting behind the drum kit spun around, setting a rhythm on the high hat cymbal, and Evie found herself focusing on their clothing. The drummer was adorned in what appeared to be dark maroon robes, with a porcelain-like mask covering their face styled much like Ancient Greece’s black-figure pottery: It was detailed with a curving beard, and a maroon paint wound over the forehead and cheeks of it, in intricate lines and swirls noticeable even from a distance. 

After four beats of the high hat the other two similarly-costumed figures turned, holding an electric guitar and bass respectively. They both wore the same style of mask, though the design of the maroon paint was different between all three, each bearing a unique abstract pattern. 

The two guitarists expertly joined in with their instruments, setting a harmony and melody to establish their sound while the din of the crowd died down. 

But as interesting as the three robed figures were, they held _nothing_ to the woman in the center. She leisurely turned around and strutted towards the edge of the stage, her body adorned in an elaborate metallic black and gold chest piece. White leather pauldrons sat on her shoulders, with a matching leather strap connecting her right pauldron down to a belt that glinted in the light like the armor, each fragment of it embossed with a golden design that Evie was unable to make out. She was dressed as if for an ancient battleground, with calves and wrists covered in matching greaves and bracers, respectively.

The woman lifted her right hand, golden bracers catching Evie’s eyes. Her fingers made a fist, and Evie watched as the woman’s muscular arms flexed, a grimace on her face. Her eyes were practically shaded by dark, smeared eyeliner, and makeup was applied to look as if she had just walked away from a battle. It was nothing grotesque, but enough to truly sell whatever this band was showing. 

Absently, Evie thought the woman’s face looked familiar. But in the commotion of the performance, she couldn’t seem to place it. 

Evident from the increasing shouts and cheers, the crowd hungrily ate it up. A few people shouted the name _Deimos_ at the armored woman and she laughed, full body moving with the action. It was more than just a concert, it was a full performance, and Evie was enraptured; she had never seen a band like this before, and she was eagerly hanging onto every action with rapt attention. 

Evie jumped a bit at the rapid strikes of the opened high hat cymbal, each _crack_ sounding in rapid succession. The tempo increased, and the rest of the band followed. 

Hopping on the balls of her feet, the woman--Deimos, Evie guessed--slowly turned around and brought the microphone to her lips. 

The band launched into their set, a distinguished and heavy beat sweeping across the stands. It was distinctly punk, and while the genre was far from what Evie regularly listened to, it was fascinating to witness. Deimos was hitting difficult notes at an astonishing rate, her expertise surely something to marvel at. As the band continued to perform she kept up her almost aggressive demeanor, acting as if the crowd was below her. Judging from the crowd’s response, though, she didn’t appear malevolent; just upholding a persona that everyone seemed to adore. 

When the final song ended Evie felt as if a spell had been broken, and she took a deep breath to regain her composure. She stood with the crowd, applauding with a grin on her face. Deimos strode over to her bandmates and all four took a sweeping bow before the curtain was raised. 

Evie followed the large crowd of patrons out of the stands, fingers twitching around her hoodie, body thrumming with adrenaline from the performance. She subconsciously followed the path she had taken earlier to Jacob, mind occupied on what she had just seen. She needed to find out more, and she was determined to find everything she could. This weekend was going to be interesting.

**Author's Note:**

> For clarity, the decision to give Kassandra glasses was born from basically doing a Super Man/Clark Kent set up. So, if it wasn't clear, Kassandra is Deimos. 
> 
> Evie has glasses because I'm sure she has a hell of a lot of eye strain and that's just how glasses be.
> 
> Also, make no mistake, Evie is incredibly intelligent, but she definitely comes off as the type of person to not be as people smart and socially aware, and this is what will lead to some nice dramatic irony in later chapters!
> 
> I'd love to hear thoughts and comments about the fic! Thank you for reading!
> 
> Notes:  
> -Kreatopita is a dish from Kefalonia, it's a meat pie that includes mince, rice, and a tomato sauce. I thought it fit nicely, since Kefalonia, in game, is basically the Eagle Bearer's home. Yes, Sparta is where they grew up, but decades were spent on the island so! 
> 
> -Pythagoras is still their father, Nikolaos was their step father, but Pythagoras is a stinky bastard man, Nikolaos will be explained later, and Herodotus & Barnabas were better fathers than both of them. But, Barnabas doesn't read as a museum owner, so I decided to make Herodotus their second step father. 
> 
> -Alexios and Kassandra are twins, there's no wild age gap between them. 
> 
> -As this is an introductory chapter, the later chapters will deal with and explain the history of the characters in this AU. So, any questions you may have will be answered in the future. I just didn't want to overload this first chapter with a ton of information


End file.
